This is the bread maker you want to buy. For a bread maker to make a light loaf it must have the right amounts of time for kneading and resting. This is that bread maker AND you have to use the right recipe. My mother used to make bread (freshly ground whole wheat) in a Bosch maker. It was lighter than any homemade white bread. When we got a bread maker she revised that recipe to work in a bread maker.In bread maker pan that sits for 20 minutes before you put into machine:1 1/4 c warm water2 T sugar1 T lecithin1 1/2 t bread maker yeastAfter 20 minutes sitting add:1 egg OR 1 T chia seeds + 2 1/2 T water (chia seeds and water that sat in small bowl for that 20 minutes)1/2 t oil418 g flour (any kind including 100% freshly ground whole wheat)38 g vital gluten1 3/4 t salt1 T instant potatoesThis recipe will deliver you a consistently light loaf of bread, not the normal dense load breadmakers are known for. Each ingredient has a purpose so no substituting.Your welcome.This bread machine is so light compared to my old one, I wondered if I made a mistake, but I don't think so. I made some really good bread. Works great and is durable. It fell of a table and for sure I thought it was broken and would need to buy a new one. Nope! Tested it and worked awesome! Hopefully it will work for many years to come.I love this bread machine! It's fairly easy to use (I recommend dark crust, unless you like your bread really light and possibly slightly under done). It does a great job and makes making bread easy!I'm a bread machine maven because my family eats a ton of bread, and nothing beats homemade. This Oster machine hasn't changed in appearance over the years, but it has added functionality. It now has settings for homemade jam and gluten-free bread, for example. It can make up to a 2-pound loaf, although most recipes make a 1.5 pound (3 cup flour) loaf. The ExpressBake feature bakes a loaf more quickly -- especially useful if you're runnig out of time -- but of course the crumb is more dense.I tend to use the dough setting more than any other because I bake a lot of artisan loaves. I've been using bread machines for decades, though, and I realize most people will just want the press-and-bake convenience. In that case, you may find yourself tweaking recipes to make them work in this machine since every brand uses different rise and bake times. If you find that your loaves are flat on top (as my daughter did), then you've added too much liquid. If your machine strains to knead or comes out with lots of dried bits, then you need a little more. Eventually, you'll get used to the machine to know the recipes that work best. (As a general rule, for a 1.5 loaf, you'll need 1 cup liquid to 3 cups flour, plus yeast, salt, sugar, and butter/oil.) The timer allows you to set up the bread machine in the morning so that you can have warm bread for dinner. Or to have fresh bread for breakfast.This Oster is a good basic machine. Higher-end brands such as Zojirushi tend to have tougher motors and more durable pans. The price difference can be staggering, and this Oster remains a much bigger bang for the buck.-- Debbie Lee WesselmannIt's my first bread machine, its easy to use. I didn't use the recipes it came with I used my on from Gluten Free Mama. First loaf come out amazing, second loaf I didn't put the ingredients in right so it was a little messed up but thay was totally my fault trying to 10pm lol I bought it to make my son gluten free bread, I'd definitely suggest this one. I ordered a bread machine before this one and it never came in, got my money back and this one came in 2 days later. As a first timer I'd highly suggest this one!!! They're originally at Bed Bath & Beyond, which was where I was trying to buy from then found it on here. Didn't realize it was the same one until it came in.Since Biden screwed up the economy and price of food is unaffordable for my family this bread maker makes it possible to feed us.This machine (Oster Expressbake Bread Maker with gluten free setting) can make good white bread. You have to be VERY exact with the measurements. Even a tiny variation in the amount of salt can have a big effect on your bread. I also found it helpful to use a thermometer to make sure that your water was warm enough. I'm still trying to find the perfect temperature for the liquids.Even with precise measurements, it will still probably take a bit of adjustment to the recipe to account for the temperature and humidity level in your kitchen. I had not baked any bread in years when I got this so it took me a while to learn to do it right and not have a loaf that collapsed. Once you get everything right, this little machine makes beautiful delicious white bread loaves.Now on to wheat bread.It has been 4 months that I have been using this now, and no matter what, I can't seem to get a whole wheat loaf to rise using this machine. I recently succeeded in making the "Summer Wheat Bread" recipe included in the recipe book. This recipe is 50% white flour and 50% whole wheat flour. I found that I had to use the white bread setting to get this to work though. No matter how careful and precise I was, it would always collapse while baking if I used the wheat bread setting. I still have not had any success in getting a 100% whole wheat recipe to work. I have tried varying the moisture, sugar, salt, and yeast levels. I have tried different settings on the machine. It all ends with a tiny little loaf that never rises. After researching a bit, I heard from a veteran baker that one of the things that makes 100% whole wheat bread difficult to make is that the other parts of the flour that gets left out in white flour (the bran maybe) anyway, I heard the bran or whatever acts like little knives and cuts up the gluten strings if it is kneaded too much, and without well developed long gluten strings, the dough can't trap the gases released by the yeast, and the dough doesn't rise. So I basically think this machine kneads the dough too much for a 100% whole wheat loaf to work.I haven't tried the express bake feature because I don't have any rapid rise yeast. I only have active dry yeast.I have not tried the Gluten-free setting.I haven't tried making jam, or cake, or any of the other bread settings on this machine either. Once I get wheat bread down, I might move on to another type.Bought in February, It failed in June. We usually make 1 loaf every week or so of whole wheat. Now the machine will not work on the whole wheat setting. Can’t they make a bead machine that lasts for more than a couple months? Oster wanted me to take pictures and send them all the purchasing info, etc, but they don’t even respond anymore. I will NEVER buy another Oster product!! Thanks Oster, for nothing that is!This bread maker works like any other basic bread machine out there. It makes good bread and is easy to use....like all the rest. I Looked around, and this one seems to be the least expensive. It also has a delayed timer. So you can have fresh hot bread for dinner or when you wake up in the mornings. Very convenient and easy to use and easy clean up.Followed the instructions exactly to bake my first loaf of Basic White Bread using the specific ingredientslisted. I had great results. No air pockets, good consistency, good colour on crust. The bread came out of the pan without difficulty. Didn't need to use the tool provided to extract the kneading paddle.This is not my first bread maker. I have owned other brands. The unit is lighter weight. It is compact for a bread maker. Make sure it is on a solid surface as it has strong vibrations as it mixes and kneads the dough.Forget this One. First bread maker I bought. Bought March 10 and stopped working April 23 and I was away for 2 weeks and didn’t make bread every day either. I missed window to return with Amazon, sucks. Now have to contact Oster directly. I was excited to make good bread for grandkids, now I am so disappointed. The problem I experienced- wouldn’t go beyond Preheat. I tried everything website suggested but didn’t fix the problem.I purchased this bread make on Feb 16 2021 for $126.99 plus $16.51 tax. It worked fine until April 30 2021 when it just stopped working completely. Amazon would not issue or replace the item as it was over their 3o day return policy so I had to deal with Oster Customer Service. They arranged to have UPS pick it up, and once returned to them they offered me the choice of a cheaper replacement or a refund. I took the refund only to be told I would not get my $16.51 tax back, just the cost of the bread maker ($126.99) Now I am without a bread maker and out my tax. I would never buy one of their products again, therefore can't recommend this product.